– Jimmies sweep St. Thomas At NAIA Championship

Sioux City Iowa– The ninth-ranked University of Jamestown women’s volleyball team won their first match in pool play Thursday evening at the 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship presented by Marriot South Sioux City Riverfront and Riverside Technologies Inc., defeating St. Thomas (Fla.) in straight sets.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Jamestown 3, St. Thomas 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-22)
Records: Jamestown (25-9), St. Thomas (27-3)
Location: Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, IA

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Aleah Zieske led the Jimmies with 17 kills, while Darienne Johnson finished with eight.
Johnson hit a team-high .333 and Lexi Olson hit .316 with seven kills.
Paige Oswald passed out 22 assists and Lily Bertsch 13.
Ellie Holen posted 23 digs while Grace Hegerle (17) and Zieske (11) were also in double figures.
Olson and Charlee Krieg each had four total blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set One (26-24)
Jamestown led by as many as three points three different times in the first set, the last coming after a block by Olson and Logan Sherman made it 13-10. STU rallied to take a 17-16 lead, their first advantage since early in the match. UJ again built a three-point lead following a St. Thomas attack error. That forced the Bobcats to call a time out, and the stoppage paid off. STU then won three straight of their own to tie the score at 23. After another tie at 24-24, an STU service error and ace by Tenley Buddenhagen gave the Jimmies a 1-0 match lead.
Set Two (25-22)
The Jimmies never trailed in the second set, opening up a 16-11 lead after Megan Moser‘s ace. After the Bobcats got within 17-13, UJ won five straight points and seven of the next eight for a 10-point lead. Facing set point, STU took advantage of a Jamestown serving error and won seven more points, cutting UJ’s lead to 24-22. The Jimmies finally stopped STU’s rally, using a Zieske kill to finish the set and make it 2-0 in the match.
Set Three (25-22)
St. Thomas took leads of 10-6 and 12-8 in the third set, but UJ won four straight to tie the score at 12. The Bobcats called time out to regroup, and won the ensuing point to retake the lead. Once again the Jimmies used a four-point run, taking a 16-13 lead after back-to-back kills by Zieske. STU got within one point three different times down the stretch, the last time coming at 22-21. Jamestown held off the Bobcats’ challenge however, and Zieske provided the match-clinching point with her 17^th kill of the night.

UP NEXT

Jamestown plays Corban (Ore.) Friday at 7 p.m. in the final match of pool play, and a win would send the Jimmies to the quarterfinals, which get underway on Saturday.